The Pirate and the Sea Witch
by knic28
Summary: When a pirate and a sea witch meet, does the sea witch destroy her, or do they find a way out? - In which I throw Historia and Ymir into an alternate universe where they fall in love, meet people, and figure out how to live normal lives as a pirate and a sea witch.
1. Chapter 1: The Sea Witch

The wind was unbelievable, the sea tossed like an enraged monster, the ship nearly split in half, and this was all due to one Sea Witch's fury. A fury which could not be quelled except by someone that she truly loved and that truly loved her.

This particular Sea Witch was said to be a force to be reckoned with; a creature of legends and a monster of horror stories. It was said that she was hurt centuries ago by people she loved with all her heart and she was consumed by such a white-hot rage as had never been seen before and has not been seen since. Now she is angry: angry enough to terrify, harm, or kill anyone who comes within a mile of her. Her voice is terrible to hear, her face fearsome to behold. She was the the Sea Witch Historia- more wrathful goddess than mere Sea Witch.

As the ship drew nearer to the heart of the storm, the sky grew even darker than it already was. The crewmen yelled at their captain to turn back, but she wouldn't. She just needed to see her for herself. She needed to see with her own two eyes exactly what this Sea Witch was made of. The captain would see her, test her, and kill her. She would bring the Sea Witch's head back to the Queen and the Queen would give her everything her heart had ever desired.

This was it, this was the day that she would finally be able to stop attacking merchants' ships and taking their money. No more of this "living on edge at all times" business, it would be a relaxed life from here on out for her.

She grinned to herself, even as the rain immediately rushed to slip between her lips and filled her mouth. She spat out the rain violently and called down to her crewmen, "Make the damn ship go faster! I have to see the Witch!"

"Aye, Captain!" their words drifted back through the howling storm.

The Witch was doing her best to overturn or snap the ship in half, but damned if Ymir would ever let that happen. She would swim out to find the Sea Witch before she gave up.

As it turned out, this was exactly what she would have to do. There was a blaze of lightning and a loud crack of thunder in the furious sky overhead. The arc of light hit the ship directly in the middle, effectively splintering it to bits. The crewmen screamed and the waters rushed to swallow them up.

Ymir assessed the situation as quickly as she could, brain clearing rapidly to make room for the crisis at hand. She glanced around to see who of her crew had survived and was above water. Nobody. Just her. That was fine, that's what she got for taking such a small crew. She furrowed her brow, shook off her boots and coat, and swam on.

It was the most difficult swim of her life. There was no land in sight, but that may have been because of the water in her eyes obscuring her vision. The weather tried its best to drown her. The cold air stung her face and whipped her hair to and fro. The Sea Witch had to be near, there was no way that this abomination of a sea would be so torturous if not. Ymir's legs were giving out, her arms exhausted, her abs heaving and her lungs burning.

And then she saw it. A tiny strip of land that was not fit to live on, and a very small, very terrifying creature on it. The creature was glowing, her eyes rolled back in her head and her hands turned towards the sky. Lightning arced from her fingertips and wind poured from her open mouth. Her skin was covered in barnacles and she wore naught but a flimsy, worn dress of sandy brown. Her hair was flying about in long, blonde tendrils.

Despite this terrifying, awe-inspiring sight before her, Ymir found the Sea Witch Historia to be frighteningly... beautiful.

She swam ahead with renewed vigor and a destination in sight. Her faith in her ability to walk was little to none, so she crawled. Over to the Sea Witch Historia and into a huddled bow did her arms take her. She stayed silent and still with her face to the ground while Historia continued to unleash her wrath.

It took some time, but eventually it subsided and when it did, Ymir finally looked up, still not daring to look the Witch in the eye. Her eyes dropped when she saw the frown that pulled at Historia's mouth. The sun came out in the moments that they remained silent, Historia observing this human girl and this human girl observing Historia's toes.

"Human," she said after what seemed like ages.

Her voice. It was terrible. It was horrible and it struck fear into Ymir's heart and it was more terrible than she had ever expected it to be. And it was the most glorious, beautiful thing that had ever graced her ears.

Ymir sat up on her knees slowly, keeping her gaze trained on the ground. She nodded just as slowly and raised her eyes once more, this time to meet Historia's. "Sea Witch," she responded, glad that her voice did not shake despite the fear coursing through her veins.

Historia let out a noise that was not human. A growl that sounded like a lions roar and a gale and a boom of thunder all at once. "Why are you here?" she questioned.

"I... I needed to see you for myself," Ymir trembled, keeping her true motives to herself.

Historia smirked. "You think you can kill me?"

Ymir blinked. "I didn't say-"

"Fool, no human has come here with any other motive before and no human with that motive has ever left here alive before."

It was very silent for a moment. The Sea Witch's threat hung in the air above Ymir's head like a guillotine. "Wait, you kill everyone that comes here? Nobody else is here with you?"

"I..." Historia faltered, "No, of course not. Why would I want anyone else to be here?"

Ymir stood up, her courage returned to her. "Wouldn't you feel alone? Wouldn't you _be_ alone?"

The Sea Witch Historia's eyes glowed bright again, anger flaring up in the pit of her stomach. "I need _no one_." Her voice thundered and shook the air as she said this, her fury evident in her voice.

Ymir shrank back somewhat as she responded, "You were human once too, weren't you? You don't just leave behind the inherent need to love like that. You can't get rid of something like that."

A sharp, piercing shriek escaped Historia and she lashed out at Ymir, long nails scratching her arm and the side of her face badly. Ymir hissed as the pain settled in. She caught the Sea Witch's hand in hers and held it firmly. Historia tugged back, but Ymir's grip only tightened.

Historia's face grew from a thoroughly shocked expression, to a briefly shocked expression, to a mortally terrified expression.

"L-let go of me! You aren't supposed to be able to do that. I am stronger than you _humans._" She spat the last word out like a curse and Ymir actually jumped back at its ferocity.

"Maybe you've met your equal then."

"My equal?" she questioned, darkness in her voice and darkness beginning to creep in overhead.

"Your equal. Isn't your equal supposed to be the only one to possess the ability to quell your fury? Are you not supposed to become mortal once again because your equal loves you and you love them?"

"I do not love you," she hissed. "I will _never _love you. I will never love anyone."

Ymir gulped, trying to make herself brave for what she was about to say next. "Well, what in Hell's name is stopping you?"

For the first, but what surely wouldn't be the last, time, Historia was wordless. She had no answer to this, but mortal, this mere _human_ had asked her a question that she herself had never thought of before. What _was_ stopping her? It certainly wasn't a lack of want for mortality. Being immortal is a grim fate when one has to live in hatred and fury through it all.

Ymir cleared her throat and began again, "Sea Wi-"

"Historia."

"E-excuse me?"

"My name was- is Historia. Call me by my name or do not speak to me at all."

A small smile found its way to Ymir's mouth and Historia's gaze dropped to the sandy ground. "Historia..." Ymir trailed off, liking the feel of the name in her mouth. It was fitting- beautiful, strange, unsettling.

Historia once again raised her eyes to meet Ymir's and she smiled at her. It was her first genuine smile in years, decades, centuries. Ymir smiled back. She reached out and gently took Historia's hand, clasping it in both of hers. Historia stepped forward ever so slightly as Ymir did the same and both of their hearts jumped wildly in their cages. The space between them was slowly closed as they leaned toward each other, lips tenderly meeting in the most gentle, true kiss either of them had ever given or received.

The barnacles that had resided on her skin for so long all fell off and landed in the sand around Historia's feet. She spoke again, "I did not even learn your name. Please, tell me what it is." The thunder had gone out of her voice and she spoke with a voice that was melodious to the ear. She hadn't heard her own voice in so long that she had forgotten what it sounded like.

Ymir grinned from ear to ear. "Ymir. My name is Ymir."

Historia grinned back and they both held each others hands even tighter.

* * *

**A/N: **I actually really like this story and it will be continued in chapter two, possibly chapter three.


	2. Chapter 2: The Stray Ship

Two days had passed since Ymir had arrived on Historia's island and they had both grown weak with hunger and thirst. They lay under a tree in the sand, trying to avoid moving and the heat.

Historia was by far more miserable than Ymir was. In addition to having never experienced this before (whereas, Ymir had), she also hadn't felt hunger, thirst, or exhaustion since she had been mortal all those centuries ago. All she could do in this misery was hold Ymir's hand and hope for a ship to find them. It was unlikely, as ships tended to avoid this place at all costs.

The waves lapped against the shore softly and it lulled him both to sleep with it's gentle sound. They awoke hours later to a downpour that only grew stronger with time. The wind picked up and the clouds thundered above them until it was a gale almost as bad as the one Historia herself had wrought upon Ymir's ship.

The roaring sea crashed viciously and they both huddled together under the tree that they had fallen asleep under. In that moment, they hated the storm. They hated the sky, the clouds, the rain, the wind, the thunder and lightning, the waves. They hated everything but each other. It was that moment, though, that they saw their salvation upon the tumultuous sea.

It was a ship. A battered, shaken ship that was being tossed amongst the chaos, but a ship nonetheless. It neared steadily and the two of them began to hear voices carried by the wind, but nearly drowned out by the rain.

"We have to jump! It's the Sea Witch!"

"Dear lord, she'll kill us!"

"It's either the Witch or the storm, which'll it be?"

There were more shouts, ones that they could not make out due to the thunder overhead. They hoped with every fiber in their being and prayed with every last ounce of strength that they had that the ship would not be destroyed, nor would it find a way to avoid the island that they were stranded on.

Whatever gods were listening or whatever force felt their hope was very gracious indeed. The gale brought the ship to the very shore and they both made their way to it, fighting the weather all the way. They waved their arms in an attempt to get the crew to notice them and let them aboard. The crew, however, refused. In their eyes, either one of these women could have been the feared and dreaded Sea Witch.

The storm cleared in a few hours and the sun shone down on them once again and the light gave a few of the braver members of the crew a new courage. A handful of people descended from the ship via rope ladder and made their way to the island to question the two of them.

A crew member with glasses and strangely curious and observant eyes was the first to speak, "Is the Sea Witch anywhere around here?"

Ymir and Historia stood and blinked for a moment at the person's forwardness. Historia spoke up first, "We haven't seen her. We wouldn't even know what one looks like. Our ship just crashed a few days ago and we swam for a while and found this place." She gestured around her to the rest of the island.

The crew member nodded and put their hand to their chin, rubbing it slowly as if deep in thought. "Uh huh. And where are the rest of the people you were sailing with?" they questioned, suspicion lining their voice.

Ymir was too quick to answer, "We were the only survivors. Everyone else drowned or was hit by the lightning that hit our ship." It was true for the most part.

A brown haired girl stepped forward and looked Ymir and Historia up and down quickly before stating, "Hanji, I think they're telling the truth."

The sailor called Hanji quickly glanced from the girl and Ymir and Historia. They tapped their chin once more before crossing their arms and sauntering forward. "Can you actually _prove_ to us that neither of you is the Sea Witch?" they inquired, walking in circles around the two women.

Ymir and Historia stayed rooted to the ground and perfectly still, only watching them with their eyes when they came into view. Historia spoke once again, "Do you honestly believe that either of us looks like we would be capable of being the Sea Witch? Sea witches are cruel and heartless and wrathful and they surely would not look like either of us."

Hanji nodded and tapped their foot against the sand. "That sounds like something a sea witch would say... In any case, that one _does_ look like she could be the Witch." She swung an arm towards Ymir, finger extended in an accusatory point.

Ymir glared at the finger that remained in her face as an awkward silence settled over the group.

A small blond person, taller than Historia, but shorter than most of the others there, broke the silence, "Excuse me, Hanji, but I do not believe that they _can_ prove that neither of them is the Sea Witch. It would take a very long time and much experimenting and other things to be certain that they are both completely human."

Hanji walked over to the crew member and slung their arm around them so haphazardly that one of the other crew members had to dodge Hanji's swinging arm. "Legout, my boy, we cannot allow them to board our ship until we know that they are no threat or danger to us." Hanji paused for a moment, thinking. "Unless..." They began giggling.

Their giggle escalated into a cackle that was cut off prematurely by a short, irritated-looking man who stated in a tired voice, "Hanji, just finish your god damn sentence." He followed this up with a, "I swear to god, this happens every fucking day..." under his breath.

Hanji immediately snapped out of their sudden and harsh laughter. "We could always bind your hands and feet, tie you to chairs, throw you in the belly of the ship, and question and torture you until you tell us who you really are, _Sea Witch._"

Ymir's face turned dark and Historia's confused.

"Excuse me?" Ymir demanded, angry that this complete stranger would just _assume_ that one of them was the Sea Witch without even having spoken to them for more than five minutes. Granted, one of them _was_ the Sea Witch, but that was all in the past now. "Listen to me," she went on, "this _is_ who we really are. My name is Ymir, and this is-"

"Christa. Christa Renz," Historia cut her off.

Ymir understood immediately. A name like Historia was easily recognized and would instantly be associated with the Sea Witch Historia.

Hanji nodded at them slowly, rubbing their chin again. They stayed in their brain for a few quiet moments and suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, they smiled brightly and extended a hand to Historia. "Well, Christa, I'm Hanji Zoe. These are my fellow crew members: Sasha, Armin, Levi, and Eren." They gestured to each person as they said their name.

Historia tentatively extended one of her hands to join Hanji's. She was quite surprised indeed when Hanji seized both of her hands in theirs and growled menacingly, "Don't try to do anything. I'm taking you aboard the ship." They locked their fingers around Historia's wrists and pulled her along behind them to board.

"Do not lay a hand on her!" yelled an angry Ymir. She rushed forward to try and get a hold of Hanji, but was interrupted when the short man called Levi stepped in front of her. She attempted to shove him aside, thinking of him as little to no threat, but he easily caught her arms and held them just as firmly as Hanji was holding Historia. He followed suit behind them and the seven people boarded the ship.


	3. Chapter 3: Homeland

**A/N: **Hahaha... I meant to mention this before chapter one, but this story was loosely (REALLY LOOSELY) based on this post on tumblr: knic28 . tumblr post/80113546626

* * *

Thankfully, the ship wasn't battered too much as Historia and Ymir found out later once they were inside it. Not so thankfully, the belly of the ship was dark and damp and made one sick to be in for very long. Of course, this was where they would have to be for the next three days. The journey back to the homeland was very long for all parties involved, but especially for them.

They were fed very little and they slept hardly at all. It is very hard to drift off when one's arms are tied behind them and one is sitting on a hard wooden chair. The whole time they were on that wretched ship, Hanji kept coming down to ask them various questions that were meant to prove their identities.

After what felt like months, they finally arrived at their destination. Having no proof for or against their identities, or lack thereof, as sea witches, Hanji did the most logical thing and took them into their small house.

"It is the only thing to do," they had insisted. "If there is no way of knowing who you are right now, I will simply have to know who you are after some time."

Neither Historia nor Ymir understood the reasoning behind these words, but they went along with it anyway. It would be a good place to stay while they figured out a way to live on their own. Hanji seemed nice and reasonable to some extent, so why not stay with them? In any case, it wasn't as if they had a better option.

It was not the most ideal situation the two of them had ever been in, but it certainly was not the worst. They had each other, after all. Nothing could be all bad when they were together.

However, it did grate awfully on Ymir's nerves that Hanji would blurt, "Are you a sea witch?!" whenever they saw either one of them. Every time they did this, Historia (or Christa, as she now had to be called) and Ymir would simply grit their teeth and tell them no.

They went on in this manner for a few days past a week until one evening when they were eating a nice quiet supper. Hanji was eating while simultaneously observing Historia and Ymir and Historia and Ymir were trying to eat comfortably while being observed by Hanji. It did not work the way they hoped it would.

"Firstly," began Hanji, still with a mouth full of food, "I am not saying that either one of you _is_ a sea witch. Secondly, if either of you _were_ the sea witch-"

"Dear _lord_," Ymir cut her off, "Hanji, neither of us ever has been the Sea Witch, or ever will be the Sea Witch. I am a pirate. I robbed merchant ships despite my distaste for doing so and I lived off of what I thieved from them. My name is Ymir and I am a pirate. Historia was simply on my ship looking for work. She did not know when she boarded that she would be working for someone as foul and deceptive as me. Neither one of us is a sea witch."

Hanji was silent for a minute and Historia worried for a split second that Ymir had hurt them in some way, but then a grin split across Hanji's face.

"A pirate, you say?" Hanji marveled. "Pray tell, what was Pirate Life like, exactly? Did you have to run from the law often? What made you become a pirate? You said that you had a distaste for robbing merchant ships, why would a pirate have a distaste for something such as that? Pirates are supposed to be ruthless and uncaring, correct?"

Hanji's slew of questions was lost on Ymir as she sighed and put her head in her hands. Historia gave her a sympathetic look and patted her back soothingly. They both ate in silence as Hanji rambled on about the tales they had heard of pirates and the specific pirates they'd heard of and the horrors of "Pirate Life" as they so called it and the mechanisms of pirate ships. The questions and the rambling went on.

* * *

If the decision had been one Ymir made on her own, she would'e gone back to pirating and left Historia with Hanji. It wasn't that she liked pirating and stealing innocent peoples' belogings and money or that she wanted to get rid of Historia; it was that it was the only way she knew how to survive and she would never, _never_ want to put Historia through that. A rough life on her own since the dawn of her memory had lead her to board her first pirate ship when she was nine years old, and she had hardly stepped foot off of one since then.

Ymir's survival depended largely on her laying low as much as she possibly could and using several aliases whenever the situation called for one. She never _liked_ doing it- it was an incredible hassle, after all- but this was what she knew. This is what she would stick with.

Hell, she could even admit to herself (but never out loud, of course) that the power she held over people who knew who she was and what she did (and, subsequently) was exhilarating in its own way. The job was easy enough in theory and definitely came with certain benefits.

Then again, it also came with its drawbacks. She hadn't even known how to swim when she fist boarded a ship It hadn't been the best idea on her part, but she was nine years old at the time. She learned how to eventually and somehow survived this far. She knew what sand tasted like- she had actually tried to eat it at one point, she was so starving and desperate. She had gone for weeks without food and with very little water. At times when she was marooned, people found her and thought her dead. Pirate Life was not easy in the slightest, it was only what she knew.

In her and Historia's stay with Hanji, she had considered going back to the life nearly every hour that they were in a house that did not belong to them. However, the second she told Historia about her musings, Historia threw her arms around her in protest.

"I won't let you leave like that," she had said. "And even if you did, I would come with you."

Ymir had huffed and gently put her arms around Historia in return, saying quietly, "Well then, what do you suggest we do? We cannot just keep living off of Hanji our whole lives."

"We can get work," suggested Historia emphatically. "We will find work or let it find us and we will work hard to earn what we want in this world."

Ymir nodded at her companion and smiled warmly. "Aye, that we will."

She buried her nose in Historia's hair and breathed deeply as Historia held her closer.

* * *

**A/N: **Aaaaannnnddddddd I think our story may be coming to an end relatively soon. We will see uwu


	4. Chapter 4: Princess

It took them some time, but after a few weeks both Ymir and Historia found work for themselves. Historia had some skill with a needle and worked for a tailor. Her help was greatly appreciated and she made enough money to support herself. Ymir took longer to find a place that would let her work. Historia had insisted that it was her "criminal face" that kept people from wanting to hire her immediately. Eventually though, she did find a place that would gladly accept her work. It was a rather large shop that sold everything from soap to garden tools to groceries to baby necessities.

Within two months and with the help of Hanji, they had enough money to find a small home to rent. They made their way through life slowly finding a pattern that they could comfortably conform to. Every day they found themselves looking closer at each other. Historia would notice the way that Ymir bit her tongue when she was nervous. Ymir would notice the little bounce in Historia's step when she was happy. The little things about the other was what made Historia or Ymir grow closer and love deeper.

The little rhythm that they had fallen into went on for months. Nothing disrupted their quiet life and they maintained contact with the sailors of the ship that rescued them (they still hadn't managed to convince Hanji that neither of them was the Sea Witch though). It was not until they were fully settled into their lives and had accepted that this would be them for a good long while that a shattering change occurred like bright light shined in their faces.

It was a very plain day; the sky was cloudy, there was no breeze to be spoken of, Historia and Ymir were in their most comfortable clothing to lounge around their home and do nothing. It was a day that they had been looking forward to for a week. A Sunday in which they had absolutely nothing to do. No work, no chores, and no errands.

They both lay on their shared bed, Ymir holding Historia and Historia appreciatively nuzzling into Ymir's shoulder, when a loud knock sounded on their front door.

"For the love of Christ," murmured Ymir.

Historia gently placed her fingers over Ymir's mouth, softly kissed her temple, and got up to answer the door.

"Yes?" she questioned as she pulled the door open by its brass handle.

A tall boy with freckles and brown hair (who looked a bit like Ymir, to be honest) stood there looking somewhat unnerved.

"Miss Renz?" the tall boy inquired.

"That would be me," she returned with a warm smile.

"Ah, nice to meet you, miss. My name is Marco Bodt. I'm here under orders of the King. I've been told to bring you back to the palace to see him."

Historia stood there unblinkingly for a moment or two before saying anything. When she did, it was with bewilderment at best. "May I ask why the king would want to see me? I do not even know how he has heard my name. All I do is work in a shop and sew."

"I do not know, miss. I was not told the reason as to why you are wanted in the palace. Oh!" Marco Bodt piped up helpfully, "I do know that he does not wish for you to rush. When I was told to come find you, I was given specific instructions to make sure that you are comfortable on your journey."

Historia simply looked at him confusedly and mumbled, "Please excuse me for a moment."

She turned on her heel swiftly, leaving the door open behind her and calling over her shoulder that he was free to come inside if he liked. He did, but cautiously stood right next to the door after shutting it behind him.

Historia made her way back to the bedroom to see Ymir lying there, tangled up in sheets and blankets with one leg hanging off the bed.

"Ymir, there is a man at the door. He says that his name is Marco Bodt and that he is a messenger of the palace."

"Huh?" Ymir said, raising her head off of her arm and rolling up to sit cross-legged. "What does he want?"

"Uh..." she trailed off and toyed with the ends of her hair. "Ah, well, he says that I've been summoned. To the palace. That the king wants me there."

"What? Why does the king want to see you, Historia?"

"I do not know. Marco does not know either. I supposed I'm to leave as soon as I can, but the king also instructed that I was to be comfortable and not to be rushed."

"Do you know why that is?" Ymir asked, finally standing up and moving over to stand in front of Historia in the middle of the room.

Historia shook her head. "No. This all seems very suspicious to me. How do I even know that he is a messenger of the king?"

"Does he bear the insignia of the royal family on him anywhere?"

"Hmm," Historia paused to try and recollect. "I think... I think that he did have the Wings of Freedom on his chest.

Ymir nodded, put her hand on Historia's lower back, and went out to meet Marco Bodt.

He smiled when Historia reappeared and nodded to the both of them in greeting. "Hello, I'm-"

"You are Marco Bodt," Ymir interrupted, "Yes, Christa has told me that much. Would you care to repeat your story to me?"

His smile faded and he nodded solemnly, telling her all the details he knew about the situation.

Ymir nodded when he finished speaking and turned to Historia. "Well, what are you going to do about it?"

Historia thought for a moment, eyes searching her hands aimlessly. "I suppose that I will go with Marco. I sincerely hope that I've not done anything wrong worthy of the king's notice, or worse: his punishment."

"I do not see how you could have. We live a fairly normal life."

Ymir and Historia both tried to convince themselves of this, but it lingered in the back of their minds throughout the rest of the day and the next day while Historia prepared to leave that there was a very real danger of her not coming back. What if the king had gotten wind of her past? There was no logical way he could have gotten a hold of information on who Historia really was, but the worry was present nevertheless.

Two days after Marco arrived, Historia left with him. Ymir wanted to come with them, but Marco had informed her that Historia was the only one that had been summoned. The country was very small, so the journey lasted less than two days. She stayed at the palace for another day until she was able to see the king.

He was an old man with a grey mustache and crows feet around his eyes. He smiled when he saw her and beckoned for her to come closer.

The room was filled with a heavy silence until the king spoke. "Do you know why I summoned you here, Miss Renz?" he asked.

Historia shook her head. "No, your majesty, I do not."

"Miss Renz, there is a painting in a room of this palace. Have you seen it?" She shook her head again and he continued, "It is a painting of a young girl. Recently, a person that I am very close with came back from his stay in the town of Sina. He went to a shop while he was there and he saw someone who looked very much like the young girl in this painting. That person was you, Miss Renz."

He paused again and the room regained the silence that had engulfed it before. Historia shifted nervously on her feet and glanced around.

"I am telling you this because the girl in that painting was a princess. She ran away over a century ago and was thought to have died soon after she left. When I heard that you looked like her, I had to know whether she had lived and if you were possibly a descendant of hers."

"That is very strange that I should look so much like her, your majesty," Historia remarked.

"Yes it is. Tell me, Miss Renz, do you know of your bloodline? Is it at all possible that you are in some way related to this princess?"

"I do not know, sir. I have not heard anything of my relation to this princess."

The king stood from his seat and walked closer to Historia, examining her face. "Are you certain?"

"I am certain that I know nothing of my relation to her."

"That is a shame. You see, I have no heir to take the throne once I pass and I had hoped that you were of royal blood and therefore capable of taking it from me. I suppose that I will have to find somebody else to do what you cannot." He then turned to look at a guard near the door. "Please bring the messenger that brought her in."

The guard nodded and scurried off to find Marco. Historia stood stock still in the middle of the room, a hurricane of thoughts blowing through her head.

No heirs? she thought to herself, This old man has to rule a kingdom by himself with no one to take his place after his passing?

"Your majesty, are you in absolutely dire need of an heir?" she questioned, voice shaking.

The king's eyebrow quirked and he smiled. "Yes. I am."

I cannot leave a country without a ruler. I must do this. "Sir, there is a possibility that I am of the same blood that this runaway princess was."

"Pray tell me, if you do not know your past, how do you know of your relation to her?"

Historia sucked in a deep breath. "You have summoned a Miss Christa Renz here, yes?" He nodded. "That girl is not who I am. Christa Renz is a kind girl who helps others and sews to make a living. I am not her. I am a confused girl who lives in a small house with one she loves. My name is not Christa Renz; it is Historia Reiss."

The king nodded thoughtfully and beckoned for two guards and a man that looked to be of high importance to follow him. "Walk with me through the palace."

Historia let out a breath of relief and fell into step with him. They walked down several corridors and through several rooms until they found a dimly lit library. There were high ceilings, thick carpets, a layer of dust on everything, and a huge fireplace set into the wall of the room. Above this fireplace hung a painting. The painting was that of Historia Reiss herself.

Upon seeing it, Historia vaguely remembered having to sit for it. It was a sunny day and she had wanted to be outdoors, but she was doomed to stay inside and have a person she had never met paint a giant version of her face onto a canvas that would hang in a library.

"Have you been inside this room before, Historia?"

"No, sir."

"And you have not read the words beneath the painting?"

"No, sir."

"Your name is old, is it not? It also happens to be the exact same name as the girl in this painting. Come, look at what this reads."

He and Historia both stepped closer to the painting. He motioned for one of the guards to lift her up so that she could see the bottom of the painting over the tall mantel.

She read the painting's plaque aloud, "Historia Reiss: R.I.P."

"If that is you," the king said, "then how are you still living? The princess ran away over a century ago, she cannot still be alive and unchanged by any natural means."

Historia's world that had just been spinning like mad came to a complete stop. She had expected this question, but she hadn't exactly planned out a response to it. She gulped and played with the hems of her sleeves. Squeezing her eyes shut and mustering all the courage she could, she blurted out, "Have you ever heard of the Sea Witch Historia, sir?"

Hearing no immediate response, she cracked one eye open to see him staring at her. "You do not mean to tell me that this Sea Witch was once you, do you?" he said, tone somewhat dark.

Historia said nothing, only nodding by way of response.

The important-looking man that the King had brough along with him snapped his fingers at the guards. "Restrain her!" he ordered. His face was aghast and frightened.

"Yes sir," the guards responded in unison.

Before they could reach her though, the King held up his hand to stop them. "Wait, Erwin," he said thoughtfully. "Before sending these guards after this girl, would it not be wiser to keep her happy for fear of her powers? After all, it is said that no man alive can ever lay a hand on her. That is, if you do mean that Sea Witch Historia." He paused and waited for her answer. It came by the way of a small nod and he continued. "How could such a thing happen? How does a human girl become a fearsome creature, hated by all men, and then miraculously become human again?"

Historia let out a small puff of breath that was heavy with relief. "Your majesty, when I was younger and I lived with my mother and my father, it was kept a secret from me who I was and why I was born. I was told until the age of seventeen that I was the daughter of a maid and a stable boy. It was then that I was brought before my real father and mother. It was not inside the palace anywhere. It was on a small farm on the outskirts of the palace land. You see, it was revealed to me that night that my father was, in fact, the King. My mother however, was not any sort of noble woman. She was simply a chamber maid that waited on the Queen. I was told that I was illegitimate and a mistake. However, the queen had died in recent times. The King took this as an opportunity to do whatever he pleased and that meant bringing me to the castle. I never understood the exact reason that he brought me there. Perhaps it was his love of tormenting and belittling me. Perhaps he thought he was doing me a kindness. No matter the case, being there was hellish misery for me. My true mother, the chamber maid, wanted no part in seeing me, and whenever she did chance to glimpse me out of the corner of her eye, she would burst into tears and scream in my face about how unwanted and disgusting I was. How I had no right to take breath from others. How I should... die. The mistreatment I received not only by them, but by anyone else willing to speak to me at all drove me to attempt to take my own life. I strung a rope from a beam of the ceiling and looped it around my neck. What I did not know, is that I was to attend a dinner in a half hour. I swung my legs to kick the chair out from under me just as a servant walked in to dress me. She screamed such a horrible scream and immediately a guard rushed in and cut me down. At that moment, my entire being filled with a fury so white-hot that it could scorch a thousand men to their deaths. I screamed a blood-curdling scream and everything in me seemed to burst. My vision filled with light and I knew I was changing; I could feel it inside and outside of me. When I could see again, I saw that there were bodies lying around me- whether they were dead or sleeping, I do not know. I ran. I ran to the ocean and attempted to drown myself. I simply drifted softly through the currents. Rather than death, I found that I could will the sea to do my bidding. From then on I was possessed by a burning rage that could not be quelled no matter my efforts. It kept me alive for so long. I needed neither food, nor sleep, nor water. It was then that I was found- found by some angel, devil, or human. I do not know what. This person saved me. She took my hand and she kissed me and every bit of the raw hatred that I once held for the world melted away in that moment. She was my equal and she broke the curse that was upon me. I am human now. I am human and I am in love with my equal."

Historia thought that the silence that followed her speech would last forever. Finally, the King's voice broke through it, smooth and calm. "Who is this Equal?" he questioned.

"Her name is Ymir," Historia piped up immediately.

"Erwin," the king said, turning to the important-looking man, "Tomorrow, send someone to bring Ymir back immediately. Tell her that it is of the utmost importance and that Christa- pardon me- Historia is in need of her assitance."

"Yes, sir," Erwin responded. "Miss? Come with me please."

"Where are you taking me?" Historia asked as Erwin and two guards led her away.

"You will wait in a prison cell until this Equal arrives. We cannot have you roaming free."

Historia nodded and looked over her shoulder to where the King stood waving goodbye to her.

* * *

**A/N: **I was wrong! It turns out that there will be at least one more chapter of this. Also, sorry for this one being so very very ridiculously long. I just couldn't stop it unu Anyways, I hope you enjoyed.


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